Buried
by macrauchenia
Summary: After Hal makes the mistake of befriending a not-so-pleasant tour guide, the Lanterns are stuck on a deserted planet infused with yellow aurem with the life of one of their Lanterns hanging in in the balance. Can Green Lantern Hal Jordan keep his separated team together and alive without his ring? Or will they all become buried? -ThreeShot- -CanonPairings- -WarningsInside-


**Timeframe/Info About This Fic: **In between "Prisoner of Sinestro" and "Loss"  
**Disclaimer:** Green Lantern: TAS belongs to its respected creators who have a great deal of love for making people cry in agony and roll around on the floor in tears of anguish and rage around the world.  
**Authors Note: **Oh, gosh. I'm sorry, but here's another threeshot. It was supposed to be looong oneshot, but I think I'm going to split it up.  
In other news, right now I am lying on the couch typing with one hand and trying not to writhe in agony, courtesy of a shattered clavicle D: So, goodish news is I'm taking a few days to rest with painkillers, so updates should be often and completely insane xD

* * *

"What're we doin' here again, Jordan?"

Hal glanced behind him at his former drill sergeant. Their little team had spent well over three solar hours trekking across the uneven and hot terrain, yet for what, they weren't quite sure.

"Well, uh, there's a rumor that—"

"Get to the point, Jordan. I think my sweat is turning green."

The human Green Lantern suppressed a laugh. "I thought Razer would be the first one to complain," he admitted, glancing over at the dour young Red Lantern, who only grimaced at the comment. "Anyway, Aya's scanners said that there were traces of that yellow stuff on this planet. Lots of yellow aurem. Thall said that the Guardians want a sample of the rock to try to see what makes it tick." He gave the others a half-shrug.

Razer crossed his arms. "It's a _rock. _It doesn't _tick."_

"Besides, shouldn't we be fightin' Manhunters or something like that?" Kilowog frowned. "What's this got to do with the primary mission?"

"Perhaps," Aya inputted for the first time, "the Guardians wish to utilize the aurem's power to negate green energy against the Manhunters. They too run on green energy."

"Yeah, maybe," Hal paused and let out an exhausted sigh. "But this is taking longer than I thought it would. Too bad we don't have a better scanner."

"I apologize, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, but my scanner would not remain accurate when we come in closer proximity with the yellow substance. However, I could try to nega—"

"Hold that thought, Aya," Hal interrupted absently. The white slits in his emerald domino masks narrowed and he brought a gloved hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the sun's glare. "Am I seeing things or is someone out there?"

"Most likely it is a mirage, reminding us that we've already crossed the borderline to insanity," Razer snarked with his typical scowl. "Trekking for hours in a broiling desert without any knowledge whatsoever of what we're looking for or where we are. A plan for madmen."

Kilowog ignored the sulking Red and squinted at the distant shimmer. "Hey, I think you're right, Jordan. I'm seein' it too, so we both can't be crazy, right?" There was an unsettling pause as the two male Green Lanterns exchanged concerned glances.

Aya looked down at the sensors on her arm. "I am affected neither by the heat nor delirium, Green Lanterns Hal and Kilowog, and I too sense the presence of another organic being." Aya's blue eyes traveled back up to the faintly darkening shape on the flat horizon. "According to my calculations, if we maintain a 'brisk' pace, we will intercept him or her in 1.32 hours."

Suppressing a groan, Hal forced a grin at the young Red. "I told you we weren't going crazy. Let's start walking."

"You may walk, but I will fly." A thin layer of fire started to swirl around Razer as his feet left the ground. However, Kilowog grabbed his ankle and yanked him back to the ground a bit rougher than necessary.

"Sorry, kid, but no flying on this mission. We need to be close to the ground to sense that rock—"

"It doesn't affect _me."_

"Besides, you wouldn't want to leave your teammates behind, would you?" Hal smiled sweetly at the scowling Red Lantern.

Razer refused to dignify the older Lantern with an answer.

* * *

Unable to maintain the Artificial Intelligence's "brisk" pace, the boys trudged exhaustedly behind the relentless female member of their team. Not affected by the broiling heat and deep, gritty sand, Aya couldn't seem to understand why her male teammates were panting and letting out occasional breathy curses.

"Fellow Lanterns, perhaps it will bring you relief to know that we are now within speaking distance of the life form." She gestured to somewhere in the distance. "If we continue to walk for another thirty minutes, we will be able to communicate face to face with him or her."

"Speaking distance you said?" Aya nodded once. Hal grinned, "Good enough for me." He brought his cupped hands to his mouth and started to shout. "Hellooo!" The human's loud voice sounded almost alien in the quiet desert. "We are Green Lant—"

"Jordan!" Kilowog grabbed Hal's shoulders and spun him around to face him. "We don't know who we're dealin' with." The Bolavaxian pointed to the symbol on his chest. "They might not be a big fan of us."

"As much as I hate to admit it, the Sergeant is right. If they've figured out how to use your precious rocks to their advantage, you'll lose your powers. And I don't relish the thought of saving you. _Again."_

Hal shot the young man a flat look, "Your faith in me is overwhelming. I know what I'm doing."

"Where have we heard _that_ before," Kilowog rolled his eyes, shooting a knowing look at the almost-amused Red.

The white slits in Hal's emerald domino mask narrowed dangerously. "Aya trusts me—don't you?" He didn't give the startled AI time to answer before he barreled into his next thought. "Besides, Aya said there was only one life form detected, right?"

"Correct, Green Lantern Hal, but there—"

"So, what harm can one little guy do to four Lanterns? Even if we don't have our rings working properly, I bet we can still tackle him."

"Green Lantern Hal, if I may interrupt—"

"Sure, Aya. What's up?"

"While my body was preoccupied with motion, I proceeded to procure more information about this planet and its inhabitants." The computer was looking anywhere but at Razer. "A few Earth years ago, this planet came into conflict with the Red Lantern Corps. Based from Zilius Zox's testimony on Oa, this planet was one of the first to be attacked by Atrocitus and suffered devastating casualties when they attempted to fight back."

The others glanced nervously at an impassive Razer. The young man's eyes narrowed slightly. "We're on Rubesia." Aya nodded once. "The invasion happened before…I was chosen, but every Red Lantern was taught the history of Rubesia and what happens to those who wished to defy Atrocitus. There's a stained glass mural on Shard that depicts the final battle. It was not…pleasant."

Hal whistled through his teeth. "That's Razer talk for it was pretty bad," he translated for the others. This new bit of information caused the others to pause for a moment and rethink their strategy.

"Whoever's out there might be pretty bitter to see a Red," Kilowog frowned, taking care not to glance directly at Razer.

"But we can explain," Hal hastily added. "I mean, you don't _look _like a typical Red Lantern." Hal regarded the kid with a slight frown. "Well, you could _smile._"

Razer rolled his eyes and raised his ring hand. "Obviously this atmosphere is relatively stable since our life support shields haven't been activated yet." The others looked at him blankly. "I'd appreciate if you have your rings at the ready just in case I'm wrong."

"_Oooh…_"

Razer suppressed the need to make another sarcastic quip as he yanked the ring off of his finger. As always, the violent aftereffects of removing a red ring startled the others and they each took a voluntary step back. The transformation had knocked Razer to his knees and he stiffly straightened up and brushed the sand from his civilian garb. He slipped the ring into a hidden pocket and looked back at the others.

"Red Lantern or not, the moment there's trouble, I'm putting it back on," he warned his fellow Green Lanterns.

Hal nodded once. "Understood."

Razer pushed himself to the front of the group and continued walking to the hazy hut in the distance. "The sooner we find your rocks, Jordan, the better."

Hal and Kilowog shrugged at each other with amused looks and followed behind the trudging civilian.

* * *

"We come in peace."

"Jordan, can you not visit another planet and pollute it with your weird Earthman customs?"

"Hey, Kilowog, it's very important that these people know we aren't out to harm them. If some weird alien race came to my planet, I'd feel a little bit better if they, I don't know, came in peace with ambassadors or whatever."

"Alien race?" Razer's eyebrow twitched upwards in barely veiled amusement.

"_Ambassadors…?"_

"Ambassadors—a diplomat sent ahead to negotiate peace treaties or pacts between two nations with common interests." Aya tilted her head, "We are, in a way, ambassadors."

Hal grinned, "Exactly."

Throughout the entire time, the life form they had encountered merely stared at them with wide looks. Although he could understand the words that the strange people in front of him were speaking, that didn't mean their jabbering conversation had to make sense. The alien was short and squatty, almost as if someone had pressed down on his head until he resembled something like a dwarf (in fact, Hal would later remark that he looked like the kid of a camel and Grumpy from one of his Earth movies). Thick black eyebrows were positioned tightly over the lid of his large eyes to prevent sand from hindering his sight. His nose was large and protruded far over his mouth with three tiny slits on the bottom for breathing. His large, beady eyes darted constantly from each of the Lantern's face to their rings and the symbols on their chests with curious eyes. The being's gaze landed briefly on Razer and narrowed, causing one of the corners of Razer's mouth to rise slightly in a sneer.

Sensing trouble from the already touchy Red Lantern, Hal quickly reintroduced his team.

"Uh, hello," He forced a smile at the stocky creature. "My name is Hal Jordan, and I'm a Green Lantern. My friends Kilowog and Aya are also Green Lanterns." He glanced at Razer, "And, uh, this is our teammate, Razer." The alien nodded once to show that he understood. "We don't mean you any harm," Hal started with another smile. "My friends and I were wondering if you know where a special kind of rock is. It's yellow and uh, glows sometimes."

Upon hearing this, the alien perked up drastically. He began to cup his three-fingered hands into something that resembled a ball. The short creature nodded with a large smile, letting out a guttural rumble.

Razer glanced at his teammate's reaction. He had forgotten his translator wasn't operation at the moment. "What did he say?"

"Fear rock," Hal grinned.

"I'd say that's a pretty good bet on what it is," Kilowog agreed with a nod. "Do you know where this is?"

There was another nod and a little bit more croaking. Hal all but punched the air with success.

"His name is Rhemadd and he said he would gladly assist us in our search for 'fear rock,'" Aya translated to Razer. Rhemadd ran back to his dilapidated hut and the sounds of furious rustling could be heard from inside.

Hal's smile almost could have split his face in two. "Maybe when we bring some back, Alli Appsa might actually say 'thanks.'"

"Doubtful," Kilowog rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

Moments later, their guide returned with a violent looking staff that was taller than him. Gesturing excitedly at the far horizon, he set off trudging through the sand with relative ease.

Shooting an "I told you so" look at his doubting companions, Hal followed after Rhemadd with a bit more spring in his step than necessary. Razer and Aya followed after with a semi-cautious Kilowog bringing up the rear with a watchful eye. He still wasn't sure Jordan's new friend was completely trustworthy.

* * *

For most of the trip, Hal was being his typical self, jabbering incessantly with their guide. Aya, who also found the conversation to be quite enlightening, offered to translate Rhemadd's words for the Red Lantern. Razer politely declined, stating that one side of an idiotic conversation was enough for him. However, he still kept most of his attention on the slightly swaying dwarf in front of him. Like the Sergeant, he was still doubtful of the human's judgment when it came to trusting strange life forms with dubious pasts. After all, wasn't Razer at one time one of these creatures? And although he would never betray his friends (he supposed they were allies now), he was suspicious of the "camel dwarf," or what Hal had lovingly dubbed the species of Rubesia.

Razer had even more of a reason to doubt Rhemadd than the others, since he was given the frostiest of welcomes by the Rubesian. The way that Rhemadd had _scrutinized_ him when he first saw Razer was not a comforting thought, even less was the way he almost seemed to recognize Razer. Razer wracked his brain to try to think if he had ever gone to Rubesia, but he couldn't come up with anything. Though this didn't surprise him, because he had successfully blocked any memories about the things he had done from his mind. It was entirely possible that he had visited Rubesia for even a few hours, just to check that everything was "in order."

Hal's mention of the words "Red Lantern" brought Razer out of his reverie. "What are they talking about now?" He whispered to Aya.

Surprised that Razer now wanted to know what was going on, Aya blinked once and turned her head back to the conversation. "Green Lantern Hal was asking about whether or not Rhemadd was a part of the original Red Lantern Invasion." There was another pause as grunting tumbled from Rhemadd's mouth. "He says that he wasn't a part of it, though he was present when they returned."

A chill ran through his spine. "Did he describe who they were?"

Aya seemed to sense what he was thinking and nodded. "He described the main one as a little star—round and tempered." Aya stopped to hear something that sounded like a gravely laugh come from Rhemadd's throat. "And stupid."

Razer nodded. "Zilius Zox." This wasn't a good sign. Atrocitus had deployed the two of them on most of their missions together. Razer didn't know why at the moment, but he realized later it was some kind of a test for the younger Red. "Who else?"

"A female with ripped wings. She was also badly tempered."

Razer suppressed the urge to breathe out in relief. He wasn't a part of the Red Lantern Corps at the time; he was probably them signing his resolution letter when he stole Atrocitus's personal Lantern. "That would have been Bleez."

Aya was quiet for a moment. "I did not believe you were here either, Razer. I know you would not ha-"

"I was different then," Razer sharply interrupted, ending that conversation. Aya fell silent and Razer quickened his pace to be closer to their guide and Hal.

Hal turned around to face the others with a wide smile. "Rhemadd said that we're there." He stopped walking and the others circled around him. They were gathered on top of a huge sand dune, the tallest thing they had seen since landing on Rubesia.

Kilowog was the last to reach the group. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't _feel _anything, and I certainly don't _see _anything. Jordan, if yo—"

"Chill out, Kilowog. He told me that there's an underground cave somewhere around here. Right, Rhemadd?" The camel dwarf nodded with a toothy smile. "We can't see it and all of this sand and the rock is blocking the signal, I guess." He shrugged.

Aya checked one of the scanners on her arms. "Rhemadd is correct. There is a faint trace of the yellow aurem below us, although it is too weak to physically affect us."

Kilowog's scowl cracked into a grin. "Then let's get going. The moment we get some of this weird rock is the moment Aya calls the Interceptor and good-bye sand."

"I am with the Sergeant," Razer seconded. "I too would like to be gone from this planet."

Hal shrugged good-naturedly and relayed the messages to Rhemadd, asking about the quickest way down to the rocks. The camel dwarf make quick gestures that they all understood to mean "follow me" and scuttled quickly down the sand dune. The Green Lanterns floated down the dune gracefully with help from their rings, but Razer took a single misstep and all but tumbled down the dune. Ironically, his floundered falling made him the first Lantern to reach the base of the dune, collapsing into an awkward sprawl. Something red glinted dangerously in the sun. Feeling a sharp stab of panic, he scrambled to his knees and grabbed his ring and stuffed it back into its pocket. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rhemadd watching him intently, but the Rubesian didn't grumble anything. Razer straightened up, brushed the sand from his clothes with as much dignity he could muster, and trudged back to the group of Green Lanterns.

Kilowog certainly thought Razer's little tumble to be hysterical. "Kid, you were about as graceful as a newborn Gnorphmussel."

Although the Red wasn't exactly familiar with the species, he was fairly certain he was being insulted in some way. He was about to tell Hal about his little ring slip, but Rhemadd was stalking towards the group and he didn't want Jordan to accidentally let something slip out of his big mouth. He settled for staring down Rhemadd with an even glare. The Rubesian barely flinched, his compliant, chatter-y attitude returning immediately. A wry frown twisted on Razer's face. Even if he had told Jordan there was something wrong about their new "friend," the Earthling wouldn't believe him.

_Clever,_ Razer dryly complimented the camel dwarf. With one hand hovering just in case by his ring pocket, Razer followed the others around the base of the sand dune. His eyes widened at what he saw next. What he expected to be a huge mound of sand rising up from the flat desert floor, was in reality a rather large cave with a stooped entrance. He paused and gawked up at the heavy stone overhanging. Boulders that were larger than him were piled precariously on the ledge, but it seemed they were too large to even budge. The large, black opening led to an even darker cavern—so large that Razer could barely discern shadows from side walls.

Hal was the first to break the silence. Taking a hesitant step forward, Hal squinted at the darkness.

"Well, I _think_ I see a yellow glow." He lifted his ring hand and sent a small pulse of green light down the cavern, but the light was swallowed up before it hit the back of the cave. "That's a good sign, I guess," he glanced backwards at the others with his typical "I say we go for it, 'cause what's the worst that can happen" look.

Knowing full too well what the worst that could happen would be, Razer still decided to go against his better judgment and followed close behind the human Green Lantern. Aya and Kilowog filtered in behind them as the four Lanterns ventured towards the entrance of the cave.

Aya glanced down at her monitors with a frown. "I am receiving readings that seem to suggest a large sample of aurem crystals resides within that cavern. However, the power from the crystals seems to be impairing a few of my basic functions."

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, where's our guide?"

Hal's question temporarily drew most of the attention from Aya's last sentence, causing the other Green Lanterns to look around curiously for Rhemadd. Only Razer refused to tears his slightly concerned gaze from Aya; he remembered what the crystals had done to her previously at the Spider Guild Prison.

"There he is!" Kilowog shouted, pointing a finger at the Rubesian, who somehow had managed to scramble up to the ledge and was perched by the largest boulder. "What's he doin' up there, Jordan?" Kilowog squinted against the bright sun to try to see what their guide was up to.

"I don't know," Hal started with a frown, "but I have a bad feeling about it."

Just then, several things happened at once. Rhemadd burst into a furious rant as he threw his entire body weight at the most dangerously positioned boulder. Hal jumped forward with his ring hand outstretched and tried to blast the tipping rock apart before it fell, but all that came out of his ring was a faded green fizzle. Another rock toppled, nearly braining the human in the process. He barely dove out of the way just as the rest of the ledge started to collapse.

"Everyone! Get out of the way!" He shouted as loud as he could over the sickening sound of solid stone splintering.

Razer tensed his legs muscles to run, shoving a hand into his ring pocket, when he noticed their female companion wasn't moving. "_Aya!" _he shouted. "_Go!"_

The AI swayed slightly on her feet without any indication that she had heard the young man and Razer finally understood what she meant when she said base functions were compromised. Realizing he would probably have to apologize later for acting so forcefully, Razer placed both hands on either of the computer's cool shoulders and shoved as hard as he could. Aya stumbled backwards with a startled expression as a large rock smashed the ground between them. The force of the impact helped to further push Aya out of the danger zone and knocked Razer to the ground. More rocks piled down upon the four Lanterns effectively cutting Hal and Razer off from the others. Razer struggled to his feet again, but another rock caught him hard on the shoulder, sending him spinning back to the ground with a surprised shout. The Red Lantern's wide stare traveled up to the crumbling ledge where most of the overhang had yet to fall. Then Rhemadd delivered a violent kick to the ledge and with another spine-tingling crack, the entire world started to fall.

* * *

After his ring stopped working and he had to resort to playing dodge-rock, Hal knew it was time to come up with one of his "spur of the moment" plans he was infamous for in the galaxy. First he took a quick observation of the situation.

_Rhemadd was _bad.

_Rocks are _falling.

_Our rings are not _working.

_We're in the middle of the _desert.

_This is not good. _

He then took stock of his crew while simultaneously dodging oversized pebbles. Luckily Kilowog was too far from the ledge to be in any immediate danger. Next his gaze traveled to Aya, who was currently locked from the yellow aurem.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, _he cursed himself. _I should have listened to her when she said something was wrong. _

He was moving towards her, but it felt like slow motion. Luckily, Razer understood what was happening as well and got to the Artificial Intelligence first. Just in time, he shoved her out of the path of being crushed by a mountain-sized boulder. The kid was too preoccupied with Aya's condition to see his own problem of stone missiles hurtling towards him. Hal tried to shout, but it was lost in the chaos. The human winced as the Red Lantern collapsed to the ground. By that time, Hal was at Razer's side, grabbing at the young man's uninjured shoulder.

"_Get up, Razer!" _He shouted as loud as he could at the dazed Lantern. For some reason, the Red was only looking up at the ledge with a dazed frown. "_Razer!"_ Hal heard the horrible crack—he didn't need to look up. With a grunt, Hal tried to drag the downed Red Lantern out of the immediate blast range, but he couldn't move them both before the ledge came down in its entirety, burying both of the boys under tons of heavy stone.

* * *

**?  
**Does this look promising?


End file.
